He usually goes to the annual Sacred Heart College fair at the beginning of the season to pick up spare pairs of second-hand boots so the team can play.

"It's a bit pick and mix but otherwise they wouldn't be playing, you know. To have brand new ones now - this is just such a special thing for them. It's the sort of thing that could lift them even further in their playing."

Shoes for Kids is the brainchild of former Silver Fern Leonie Leaver.

The Greenlane woman dreamed up the shoe-giving initiative when she was coaching at One Tree Hill College and kids were turning up without sports shoes.

The trust was one of 12 winning charities that received $10,000 in Auckland Airport's 12 Days of Christmas project.

Ms Leaver used the money to buy 200 pairs of sports shoes for children across Auckland.